According to Russian journalist Alexey Venediktov, the last leader of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev, commented for the first time on Russia's war in Ukraine.

Journalist Alexey Venediktov, a close friend of the last Soviet president, Mikhail Gorbachev, said he was horrified to see Putin destroy his life's work.

He spoke about this in an interview with Forbes Russia.

"I can tell you that he is disappointed, of course, he understands [what is happening]. It was his life's work. Freedom is Gorbachev's business," the journalist said, recalling the policy of perestroika and glasnost, which included, in particular, freedom words and creeds.

Now, according to the journalist, all this "Gorbachev's legacy" has been destroyed in the Russian Federation by Putin's policy. "So what can [Gorbachev] say now?" he concluded.

Venediktov also recalled that when Gorbachev headed the USSR in 1985-1991, there were 4,000 troops in Europe from units of the NATO Rapid Reaction Force.

"Now NATO has announced that there will be 300,000 people here by the end of next year," he said. The journalist added that this means a considerable increase in the threat level between East and West.

Recall that the state of health of 91-year-old Mikhail Gorbachev, the last communist leader of the Soviet Union, has deteriorated significantly.